Prescription medicines require a prescription prepared by a person authorized to prescribe medicine. A prescription medicine is dispensed by a pharmacist, and the prescription medicine typically comes with an information leaflet providing information about the medicine, its side effects, if any, instructions for use of the medicine, and any relevant cautions and warnings.
Most prescription medicines are dispensed by a pharmacist in a bottle or in a blister pack. Some prescription medicines that are dispensed in this manner have complicated instructions for use and may not be easy for a patient to remember. For example, some prescription medicines are to be taken in the morning, afternoon, or evening, some with or without food, some with or without certain types of food, and particular quantities. In these situations, a patient may need to read the bottle or refer back to the information leaflet for instructions when taking the medicine. A patient also may need to keep a log of when he or she took the medicine to ensure compliance with any timing instructions.